Vegan Charcuterie Board

Charcuterie boards are a visually stunning and versatile shared appetizer that have recently grown in popularity. They have also evolved far beyond meat and cheese boards. This beautiful vegetarian charcuterie board includes pastrami-cured portobello mushrooms, smoked peppered beets, smoked celeriac and wild mushroom terrine, pickled vegetables, tomato chutney, and more. You don’t need to make an entirely vegan board like this one, but adding just some of these plant-based elements to a traditional charcuterie board makes it much more plant-forward and unique for your guests.

 
 

Yield: One board good for 3-4 people 

Method

For the Pastrami-Cured Portobello Mushrooms:

  1. Remove the stems and gills and peel the mushrooms. (You can make mushroom powder out of the stems and peelings if you like)

  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the tamari and brine.

  3. Add the cleaned mushroom caps and brine for 24 hours. Drain and rinse.

  4. Combine the ground coriander and pepper and then coat the mushroom caps with that mixture.

  5. Smoke at 180°F for 2 hours. Cool.

  6. Slice the cap.

For the Cured and Smoked Peppered Beets

  1. Cryovac and sous vide the beets at 185° F for 2-3 hours. Chill in the bag.

  2. Marinate in the beets in the Basic Brine overnight. Drain and rinse

  3. Roll the beets in the pepper to coat.

  4. Slice the beets 1/8” thick on a mandolin. Lay them out on a wire rack.

  5. Smoke at 180°F for 1 ½ hours. Cool.

For the Smoked Celeriac and Wild Mushroom Terrine

  1. For the smoked celeriac purée, peel the celeriac and sous vide for 3 hours at 190°F. Pat dry with a paper towel. Smoke at 160°F for 40 minutes. Purée and reserve.

  2. Blanch the full leaves of the chard in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Shock in cold water. Drain on paper towels.

  3. Lay the chard out on plastic wrap and cover with plastic wrap and roll with rolling pin.

  4. Line a terrine mold with the plastic-wrapped chard. Remove the top layer of plastic. Reserve.

  5. Sauté the mushrooms and spinach in olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

  6. Combine 6 ounces of the reserved celeriac purée, potato purée, salt, and the mushroom mixture in a bowl and mix well.

  7. In a small saucepan, combine the agar agar and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Add ½ cup of the hot agar agar mixture to the purée and mix well.

  8. Immediately add the purée to the greens lined terrine mold. Level off the top and fold any excess greens over the top. Press down gently. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

  9. Once chilled, the terrine can be removed from the mold and sliced ¼-inch thick. Remove the plastic wrap after slicing. Reserve.

For the Pickled Carrots and Garlic Cloves

  1. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and vinegar. Bring to a boil.

  2. Place the carrots and garlic in a mixing bowl. Pour the sugar and vinegar mixture over the vegetables. Allow to cool and marinate for 2 hours or overnight.

  3. Drain and reserve.

For the Roasted Heirloom Tomato Chutney

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  2. Core and cut the tomatoes on the equator and remove the seeds.

  3. Brush the tomatoes with oil and roast them in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

  4. Cool and large dice the tomatoes. Reserve.

  5. Heat the oil in a sauté pan. Add the onions and shallots and sweat until translucent.

  6. Add the ginger, turmeric, and allspice and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

  7. Add the honey and vinegar. Bring it to a boil and reduce by ½.

  8. Adjust the flavor with vinegar or honey to taste.

  9. Add the reserved tomatoes and cook until thick.

  10. Cool and reserve.

For the Hot Honey Aioli

  1. For the hot honey aioli, in a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise and honey.

To Assemble the Board:

  1. Arrange each item decoratively on a serving board and serve.

Source: Chef Rudy Smith from Unilever Food Solutions. Published with permission of the author. All rights reserved.

Ingredients

For the Pastrami-Cured Portobello Mushrooms, 1 cap:

6 portobello mushrooms
2 cups Basic Brine (Recipe here)
¼ cup tamari
¼ cup ground coriander
¼ cup black ground pepper

For the Cured and Smoked Peppered Beets, 1/3 recipe:

3 large beets, peeled
2 cups Basic Brine (Recipe here)
¼ cup black ground pepper

For the Smoked Celeriac and Wild Mushroom Terrine, 7-9 ea.:

1 lb. celeriac
1 lb. Swiss chard
3 oz. potato purée
½ tsp. kosher salt
4 oz. assorted mushrooms
½ cup spinach, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 pinch kosher salt
1 pinch black ground pepper
1 tsp. agar agar powder
1 cup water

For the Pickled Carrots and Garlic Cloves, ¼ cup:

1 cup rice vinegar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup garlic cloves
1 cup carrot, sliced

For the Roasted Heirloom Tomato Chutney, ¼ cup:

2 large heirloom tomatoes
As needed, olive oil (for roasting tomatoes)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, small diced
1 small shallot, minced
1 Tbsp. ginger, minced
½ tsp. ground turmeric
¼ tsp. allspice
2 Tbsp. honey
3-4 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

 

For the Hot Honey Aioli, 1¼ cup:

1 cup Hellmann’s® Vegan Mayonnaise
¼  cup hot honey

To Assemble the Board:

3 Tbsp. Maille® Old Style Mustard
2-3 ea. assorted cheese and nuts
Toasted bread, as needed

This recipe and video were produced by The Culinary Institute of America as an industry service,
thanks to the generous support of Unilever Food Solutions.